Report: New York ranks 41st in voter turnout in 2016

Ranking takes voting-eligible population into account rather than registered voters

1of5A map showing voter turnout in the 2016 general election according to the US Elections Project report titled "America Goes to the Polls." Minnesota ranked #1 with the highest rate of voter turnout* in the 2016 general election (75 percent), and Hawaii ranked last (43 percent). New York ranked #41 with a 57 percent turnout. (Cathleen F. Crowley/Times Union)Crowley, Cathleen2of5Voter turnout by age according to the US Elections Project report titled "America Goes to the Polls." The report calculates voter turnout using voting-eligible population rather than registered voters.Crowley, Cathleen3of5Total voter turnout in the 2016 general election according to the US Elections Project report titled "America Goes to the Polls." The report calculates voter turnout using voting-eligible population rather than registered voters.4of5Lauren Quinn, 21, left, gets a sticker from an election worker after voting in her first presidential election on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, at Bethlehem Town Hall in Delmar, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron5of5Voters lined up on Election Day to place "I voted" stickers on the grave of Susan B. Anthony at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY. (Max Schulte/Democrat & Chronicle via AP) ORG XMIT: NYROD102Max Schulte

Albany

New York ranked 41st in the country for voter turnout in the 2016 general election, with just more than 57 percent of the "voting-eligible population" casting ballots, according to a new report.

The report from Nonprofit VOTE, a Boston-based group that helps nonprofit organizations with voter participation, and the U.S. Elections Project shows that New York improved its turnout ranking by three spots compared to the 2012 general election.

Nationwide, Minnesota ranked highest in terms of turnout, with 74.8 percent of the voting-eligible population showing up at the polls. Hawaii was worst, with 43 percent turnout.

The U.S. Elections Project, run by University of Florida professor Michael McDonald, uses voting-eligible population — determined using census numbers and other factors — as its preferred metric to determine turnout rather than the number of registered voters, which is a smaller pool.

The difference between the voting-eligible population and number of registered voters is roughly 2.1 million voters.

If New York turnout is measured by comparing the number of ballots cast against the number of registered voters as of Nov. 1 (which hit a new high heading into the November election), turnout was 67 percent (just higher than 65 percent in 2012 but lower than the 71 percent in 2008), state Board of Elections data show.

The turnout in a presidential year was remarkably better than in the 2014 midterms and gubernatorial election. Twenty-nine percent of the voting-eligible population turned out for that election, making the Empire State a basement dweller with the 49th best turnout in the nation, according to U.S. Elections Project data.

The report advocates for election reforms that include allowing same-day registration (which 14 states and the District of Columbia offer) and automatic voter registration.

Some New York lawmakers have sought changes in law to enact both reforms — in addition to others — but so far have been unsuccessful in their efforts.

"Across the country we see the disastrous impact of voter suppression laws, especially for communities of color," a group of 135 women legislators and advocates wrote to top lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week as they pushed for early voting and automatic registration. "But here in New York, we have our own kind of voter suppression laws — registration laws that are so antiquated that they are ineffective, or worse, negatively affecting New Yorkers' ability to participate in their democracy."

The Assembly proposes its own early voting and online registration/agency-assisted registration legislation. A version of early voting legislation was approved last year but has not yet been voted on in 2017.